


The Short-Lived Life of Ella Herondale II

by astoriaamalfoyy



Category: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Original Character Death(s), Pregnancy, babysitters lucie and james
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:54:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24479044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astoriaamalfoyy/pseuds/astoriaamalfoyy
Summary: Ella Herondale II was born into a family that was perfect in almost all sense of the word. But kindness and hope and love cannot cure illness, no matter how much someone has.
Relationships: Tessa Gray/Will Herondale
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	The Short-Lived Life of Ella Herondale II

**Author's Note:**

  * For [daisyherondale](https://archiveofourown.org/users/daisyherondale/gifts).



> This was requested on Tumblr! I hope you enjoy!

Tessa Gray-Herondale was known for defying the odds, having the blood of half-Shadowhunter and half-Eidolon demon, which made her an incredibly powerful warlock.

She wasn’t supposed to live among Shadowhunters, yet she did. She wasn’t supposed to marry a full fledged Nephilim, yet she did. She wasn’t supposed to be able to get pregnant or carry her children to term, yet she did.

Tessa always defied the stereotypes put in place by Nephilim society. And she sure as hell wasn’t sorry for any of it, having no regrets for anything in her life. She would never have regrets, for as a woman who would live forever, it wasn’t worth anything to hold onto ghosts of the past.

So when she turned out to be pregnant in her early forties, neither she or Will had any remorse for it. Sure, James and Lucie were getting older but the couple loved the pitter pattering of a child running through the Institute, reading to toddlers before bedtime, soothing a baby back to sleep.

Besides, Will had expressed his interest in having another child, years previous but James had been going off to the Shadowhunter Academy and Lucie needed attention of her own, so it wasn’t at the top of their priority list. Since then, they hadn’t discussed the subject.

Nevertheless, the child was wanted, although he or she was unexpected. That’s all that mattered, that the child would be brought into a household filled with hope and love. And the child was loved already, so loved.

This pregnancy was a good thing, Tessa knew it the moment she told her husband… 

_“Are you sure?” Will had asked, upon finding out from Tessa._

_“I am,” she replied. “The Silent Brothers confirmed that I’m only around three months in.”_

_Will smiled brightly, pulling his wife into a tight embrace, whispering blissful words into her ear._

_He released her, settling his hands on her stomach, knowing it would be sizes larger in only a few months. Tessa grinned, placing her hands over his._

_“We’re having another baby,” Will breathed._

_“We’re having another baby,” she repeated, with a watery laugh at the end._

Yes, this pregnancy was most definitely a good thing.

***

Only about a week later, Tessa woke up with an obvious baby bump and she and Will agreed that they wouldn't be able to keep the pregnancy under wraps much longer. They needed to tell James and Lucie, before letting everyone else know their news.

“What’s going on?” questioned Lucie, plopping herself onto an Institute sofa with a puff.

“Is something wrong?” James added, licking the remains of strawberry jam from breakfast on his lower lip.

“No, nothing’s wrong,” answered Tessa, nodding to Will. “But your father and I have something important to tell you.”

Lucie’s face fell. “You’re getting a divorce, aren’t you? I knew true love didn’t exist!” she exasperated. 

“No, Lulu, no, Mam and I are not getting a divorce,” replied Will, his tone rushed. “You want to tell them, Tess?”

“Sure,” she nodded. “James, Lucie, in a few months time, you’ll be getting a little brother or sister.”

Lucie smiled as bright as her father had when he found out, jumping up and doing a shimmy dance. It looked funny considering she was totally decked out for a day spent out on the town with Cordelia Carstairs and Anna Lightwood and obviously uncomfortable in her outfit, but she still had pure excitement, nonetheless.

“Oh, Mam, Papa! This is the greatest news ever!” she engulfed her parents in a tight hug. “Hopefully, it will be a girl…Jamie’s already well enough a bother as is, I don’t need two brothers to get worked up with. Right James?”

Lucie turned to her brother, who appeared numb on the sofa, completely unmoving. James’ gold eyes flashed an inkling of hurt as he swiftly got up, and left the sitting room.

“James!” called Will, starting to chase after him.

“No, I’ll get him,” Tessa gave a soft smile, before rushing after her oldest child.

She quickly found James, who was at the end of the corridor, leaning against the wall. He was breathing heavily, before sinking to the ground.

“Jamie, darling, what is it?” Tessa bent down, combing her fingers through his unruly curls.

He just shook his head, refusing to meet his eyes.

“Please, tell me what’s wrong,” she begged. “I can’t help you until you tell me.”

“I - I…” James’ voice hitched, before trailing off.

“You, what?”

“I feel like I’m too old to think this way, but - but I do. You and Papa aren’t trying to - um - like - you’re not trying to replace us, are you? Lucie and I?”

Tessa almost did a double take. “Why on earth would you ever think that?” she demanded.

“I don’t know, this pregnancy just seems out of the blue,” he explained. “Neither you or Papa mentioned anything to Lucie and I about having a younger sibling earlier.”

“James, pregnancy - at least for your father and I - has never been planned. Warlocks aren’t supposed to be able to carry children, we didn’t even know it was a possibility at first,” she replied. “When we got pregnant with you, it was such a welcome feat, we were marveled, along with the rest of the Nephilim community. Then, Lucie the next year: she was a wonderful surprise. Now, sixteen years later, this is still something unimaginable. 

“We would never try to replace you, or Lucie. You two are your own intelligent, independent, and unique persons: there’s absolutely no way to compare either of you,” finished Tessa. “Just know that, through all of this, your father and I love you and Lucie so much.”

Tears streaked down James’ cheeks and he pulled his mother into a tight hug, where he sobbed, Tessa rubbing his back comfortingly.

Will and Lucie stood from afar, watching the scene play out.

“That was a beautiful moment,” commented Will, “what do you think, Luce?”

She wiped her eyes, which similarly matched her father’s. “Bloody beautiful, it is. Damn, the waterworks.”

***

The last six months of Tessa’s pregnancy flew by and, sooner than they expected, her water broke and she was suddenly in labor.

Tessa’s last labor turned out to be the hardest one out of all three. The moment her contractions started, she was in instant pain, moaning and shrieking.

But, luckily, after thirteen grueling hours, Tessa and Will’s youngest daughter was born, with brown whisps at the top of her head and baby blue eyes.

“Hi Ella Linette,” greeted Lucie, waving down at her newborn sister.

“Ella Linette Herondale: sounds like a perfect little name for a perfect little baby,” James complimented, nodding.

“Thank you, Lucie, James,” replied Tessa, although weakened, there was still an unfaltering smile on her face.

“You know,” Will added, turning his head to the side, “Ella looks a lot like you, Lucie, when you were born.”

“Of course she does,” she responded, sticking her tongue out at her brother, “Ella already knows who her favorite sibling is going to be.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna be me,” James retorted.

“No way. Sisters rule over brothers,” snapped Lucie, shoveling him from across the bed.

“No fighting around Ella, you pair,” Tessa reprimanded, half-heartedly.

The older siblings laughed in unison, their giggles harmonizing accidentally.

“We should probably go and tell the others the news,” James said, standing up from the bed and strolling out of the room.

“Yeah,” Lucie followed him, picking up her pace to catch up. “Have fun with Ella!”

Will waved ‘goodbye’ as they left, turning his attention back to his newborn. “Oh, Ella,” he cooed, “your brother and sister love you so much already. So do Mama and Papa, of course.”

“Yes, Ella,” added Tessa, “you are so, so loved.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you want, kudos and comments are greatly appreciated and truly make my day. If not, I hope you have a great day and enjoyed the fic! Planning for chapter two to come out soon!
> 
> Check me out on [Tumblr!](https://emptysatellite.tumblr.com/)


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